Improvement in weighing apparatus



' T. FAIRBANKS.

Weighing Apparatus.

34355 Patented Feb. 11,1862.

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THADDEUS FAIRBANKS, OF ST. JOHNSBURY, VERMONT.

IMPROVEMENT IN WEIGHING APPARATUS.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, THADDEUS FAIRBANKS, of St. .lohnsbury, in the county of Caledonia and State of Vermont, have invented a new and useful Improvement in WVeighing Apparatus; and I do hereby declare the same to be fully described in the following specification and represented in the accompanying drawings, of which Figure l is a side elevation. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal and vertical section, and Fig. 3 is an end View, of a steelyard or scale-beam furnished with my invention. Fig. i is a vertical section taken transversely to the beam and through its check and loop. Fig. 5 is afront end view of the check, while Fig. 6 is a representation of the lower side of the frontpart or leg of the loop.

The nature of my invention consists in the combination and arrangement of acheck and its latching mechanism with the scale-beam and its loop in manner and so as to operate substantially as hereinafter described, the purpose of the said check being to prevent the beam from oscillating or bein g thrown upward and downward, either while an article is being deposited on or removed from the scale or during transportation of the weighing apparatus from place to place.

In the drawings, A denotes a steelyard or scale-beam suspended in the usual manner from an arm B and extending into a rectangular loop O, which projects down ward from such arm, and is formed as exhibited in the drawings. A shaft D passes through the two vertical side portions or legs a b of the loop, and is so applied thereto as to be capable not only of being freely revolved therein, but of being moved a short distance endwise therein and against a helical spring E, arranged in the loop, as shown in Fig. 4. The front end of the said shaft is provided with a knob 0r handle 0, which when between and grasped byv the thumb and finger of the hand of a person sufiices to enable such person to rotate the shaft.

F is the check, which is formed and made to extend from the shaft, as shown in the drawings. It has on its front end three teeth or studs 2 f g to operate with two teeth or studs h t', which are projected from the inner side of the leg to of the loop, arranged and formed as shown in Fig. 6.

When the scale-beam may be resting on the lever-bar k of the loop, if the check-shaft be pressed inward and turned the check may be brought into a vertical position and so as to touch or nearly touch the upper edge of the said scale-beam, in which case when allowed to be sprung back it will be latched in posi tion and will prevent the beam from vibrat ing vertically. lVhen the check is turned into a horizontal position, as exhibited by dotted lines in Figs. 1 and 2, it being shown in one figure as standing in one direction, while in the other figure it is shown as extending in the opposite direction, the beam will be at liberty to so vibrate. Such vibration of the beam, while it is not being used for the purpose of weighing an article, operates to wear the knifeedge bearings of the beam and is injurious, as well as disagreeable in other respects.

I claim- The combination and arrangement of the rotary check and its latching mechanism with the scale-beam and its loop in manner and so as to operate substantially as specified.

THADDEUS FAIRBANKS.

lVitnesses:

R. H. EDDY, F. P. HALE, J r. 

